It was an important part of the U.S. defense industry that employed thousands of Long Islanders and built aircraft such as the Navy’s F-14 fighter jet and A-6 Intruder. But Grumman’s Calverton plant left another kind of legacy: chemicals migrating off the property have polluted local waters and have reached the Peconic River, one of the state’s most vital estuaries.
Distrust and allegations of fraud spilled over during a Tuesday meeting of the Restoration Advisory Board as the Navy announced its plan to stem the migration of PFOS, 1,4-dioxane and other toxic substances from the former aircraft manufacturing facility.
While pollutants have been detected throughout the 6,000-acre site, of particular concern is a fire training pit where toxic fuels were burned and firefighting foams were used to extinguish them.
Cancer-causing “forever chemicals” that do not break down in the environment have forced the closure of nearby Swan Pond to fishing and have been detected in fish and surface waters extending toward the Peconic Bay. Critics contend that the Navy knew elevated levels had been found in fish tissue for roughly a year before informing Suffolk County officials.
The Navy’s newly unveiled cleanup proposal centers on a “funnel and gate” treatment system. Under the plan, an underground barrier would be installed to direct contaminated groundwater toward a treatment gate containing filter media designed to remove PFAS chemicals. According to a presentation from Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command based in Norfolk, Va., the treated water would then continue flowing through the aquifer while the filter media would be replaced as needed.
Additional treatment technologies outlined by the Navy include activated carbon filtration systems and a foam fractionation process that uses air bubbles to concentrate PFAS into foam for removal and destruction. The Navy also reported that previous groundwater remediation efforts at one contaminated area treated 184 million gallons of water and removed 55 pounds of volatile organic compounds.
But many participants questioned whether the latest proposal would actually work. Riverhead Water District Superintendent and RAB member Frank Mancini was among the most vocal critics.
“I accused them of fraud,” Mancini said following the meeting, referring to approximately $78.5 million spent so far on environmental work at the site. “While they did get some work done, $78.5 million is an enormous amount of money.”
Mancini contrasted the Navy’s progress with cleanup efforts at Brookhaven National Laboratory. “Brookhaven was given $200 million. They took apart three nuclear reactors, dredged the Peconic for mercury and pumped and treated groundwater for decades. The Navy’s got next to nothing done. It seems fraudulent to me.”
He also questioned whether the funnel-and-gate concept would effectively capture contaminated groundwater. “You have water moving through the ground like a river,” Mancini said. “You put a wall up and a small opening. I don’t understand what’s going to force all this water through a smaller opening. It’s just going to build up and go around the wall untreated.”
The meeting also highlighted growing tensions between the Navy and Suffolk County. Several speakers objected to the Navy’s decision to remove Suffolk County Health Department hydrogeologist Andrew Rapiejko from the technical stakeholder process. Rapiejko has studied contamination at the site and played a key role in identifying PFAS and other pollutants through independent county testing.
RAB Co-Chair Vincent Racaniello pressed Navy officials for answers regarding Rapiejko’s removal and the agency’s handling of public participation.
Citizens Campaign for the Environment Executive Director Adrienne Esposito similarly expressed concerns about transparency, noting it was highly unusual for a public Zoom meeting to be so tightly controlled.
The dispute underscored what many attendees described as a growing breakdown in trust between the Navy and the local agencies that have spent years pushing for a more aggressive response to contamination migrating beyond the former Grumman property.
With PFAS detected in surface water, sediment and fish tissue, and with portions of the plume already extending beyond the site boundary, critics argued the Navy’s latest proposal raises as many questions as it answers.